


Wily Bar Patrons

by emilyisfictional



Category: Star Wars, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars: Rebellion Era - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: But they have Chopper, Cantina, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Hera is a waitress, I swear, Imperial Officers (Star Wars), Interspecies Romance, Kanan is a bartender, Kanan is infatuated with Hera, Kissing, Mutual Idiots in Love, Mutual Pining, One Shot, Pda makes people uncomfortable, Post-Star Wars: A New Dawn, Pre-Star Wars: Rebels, Rebellion, Reconnaissance, Sith Empire, That's the only reason, The Gang isn't together yet, Undercover, Who's to Say, ahhhhh, but will they admit it?, i love these two, kanera - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:40:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23292604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emilyisfictional/pseuds/emilyisfictional
Summary: In which Kanan and Hera have to draw attention away from themselves. And Kanan is more than happy to comply because he is stupidly in love with her.
Relationships: Kanan Jarrus/Hera Syndulla
Comments: 4
Kudos: 49





	Wily Bar Patrons

**Author's Note:**

> I've been rewatching Star Wars Rebels and rereading a New Dawn and just completely throwing myself back into the Star Wars fandom so here I am! These two are so sweet and married but I wanted to explore their earlier years before they met the gang a bit! I hope you enjoy!

Kanan Jarrus was thoroughly and completely infatuated with the Twi’Lek female sitting opposite him. He had been since they’d met, nay, the first time he heard her voice. That was when he had decided that he would follow her to the ends of the galaxy.

And the end of the galaxy was basically where they were. Deep cover in a seedy cantina on a planet without a name in Wild Space was not how he expected to spend the rotation. Especially since the object of his affection wasn’t currently paying any attention to him. Instead, her focus was on the Imperial navy officers who shouldn’t have been this far from the capital. The Ghost had been tracking a shipment of doonium for weeks. And they had ended up here. Just Kanan, Hera and Hera’s insufferable astromech, Chopper. Kanan didn’t understand why they had to keep him around, all he did was complain and zap Kanan whenever he pleased. 

But Chopper wasn’t in the cantina, which was a plus. And Hera wasn’t wearing her usual flight suit, in hopes to attract the attention of a particular Imperial officer, she wore a tight-fitting black dress that she had confided in Kanan made her feel extremely uncomfortable. Especially since this was the kind of place where Twi’Lek’s went missing and ended up in slave markets. And while Kanan acknowledged her discomfort, it didn’t change the fact that she looked radiant and it made him question all of the principals of the Jedi Code. Not that he had followed the Code in years. But when faced with a situation like the one he was currently in, he thanked the cosmic forces holding his world together for his long-standing Code commitment issues. 

Before he met Hera he did plenty of regrettable things. He frequented cantinas like this, fighting everyone who tried to mess with him, he slept around and drank copious amounts of alcohol to deal with the past that he dared not acknowledge. But things were different now, with her. She made him want to be a better person. Her commitment to her cause was not only admirable but she inspired so many to take up the fight as well. She inspired him of all people to do something with his life besides run. 

He was too infatuated with her to not be in love. And too much of a bastard to admit it.

“So what’s a girl like you doing in a place like this?” he teased, returning his attention to said green beauty in front of him. 

“Kanan, this is no time for messing around,” she shifted in her seat. “Admiral Zhou should be meeting with his rebellion informant any minute now. We finally have the chance to not only find out what he’s done with the shipment of doonium but also to find out who our mole is.”

“Relax, I know the mission” the rogue Jedi sighed. “But the Admiral isn’t even here yet let alone his informant. And,” he drawled. “We have some time to kill, may as well have some fun.”

Bastard indeed. 

Hera cocked an eyebrow and leant forward onto the bar, “and what sort of fun are you thinking of Mr. Bartender.” 

“Oh, I’ve got a few ideas,” he trailed a finger down her lek. He didn’t miss her subtle shiver. Or her instinct to move closer to him. 

“Kanan,” she whispered.

“Yes?”

“He’s here.”

Kanan groaned, the moment gone. He began to back up but before he could get out of arms reach Hera pulled him back in with a “wait.” She used his head to hide the fact that she was watching the young imperial Admiral who had just entered the cantina.

“Well, Hera if I knew you were this eager to get close to me all you had to do was ask.”

“Shh, I’m trying to see who he’s meeting up with.”

“Excuse me, can I get another Bezoraah?” A grumpy Ithorian asked. Hera relinquished Kanan’s head, allowing him to take the alien’s order while not taking her eyes off the Admiral. 

After serving the grumpy Ithorian, Kanan grabbed a glass and started cleaning it in frustration, feeling a pang of jealousy as he watched her catch the admiral’s eye and give him a flirtatious smile.

The Admiral then directed his attention to a figure in a black hood who had just strode in.

“That our guy?” Kanan asked, turning away from the interaction so as to not draw attention.

“Yup. And see that briefcase he’s carrying? It contains fifty sheets of doonium with more on his ship. That’s enough to last us a few rotations or at least until we can track the main shipment.”

“I guess we have our work cut out for us then.”

“I guess we do,” she said. Kanan watched her take a nice long sip over her drink and pick up the strip of fabric on the bar next to her, tying it around her waist like an apron. She turned to Kanan, “how do I look?”

But before he could even think of something to say that would appropriately suffice she pushed herself off her chair and turned towards the table that the Admiral and his informant were sitting at.

Kanan watched as she used every asset to her advantage, which included switching to her native Twi’Leki accent, the one that she worked so hard to lose. He watched her smile shyly at them, laugh, and pretend to remember their order. And as soon as she returned to the bar, to Kanan, to comfort, she became a different person entirely.

“They’re going to the back for the trade-off soon,” she informed him. 

“Quieter, fewer eyes. Did you see who the informant was?”

She shook her head, her back against the bar. “No, I think he was wearing a mask, didn’t get a good look.”

“Do you think he recognized you?”

“I don’t think so. I’m very good at my job, dear.”

“Maybe too good,” he nodded towards the Admiral, whose gaze had once again returned to the Twi’lek.

“I never took you as the jealous type,” she mumbled through a gritted smile.

“I’m not jealous. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

The two watched as the Admiral and his friend started making their way to a back room.

“I can take care of myself thank you very much,” Hera said. Kanan knew this first hand. 

She began to stand slowly but he grabbed her arm.

“And where are you going?”

She jerked her arm back. “They’re about to have the trade-off, we have to follow them.”

“Yes but if we get caught.”

“We won’t get caught, I have a plan.”

“But if we do, we risk exposing ourselves and the doonium retrieval plot.”

“I know, can you just,” she sighed. “Trust me?” 

Her eyes sparkled in the dim light of the cantina. Big green eyes that Kanan just couldn’t say no to. 

“Of course I trust you. That’s why I’m coming with you.”

“Fine.”

The two removed their aprons and followed the Imperial to the back. Careful not to alert them to their presence. 

“Steady,” Kanan whispered, making a series of hand signals to alert Hera that Admiral Zhou and his informant had stopped in the next room. 

The two listened in. 

“And the rebels don’t know you’ve taken it?”

“No sir, as far as they’re aware their stolen shipment of doonium is still en route to their rebel base. They have no idea it’s been redirected to the Primtara.”

“Primtara? That’s an old Clone Wars base. But it hasn’t been used in years, why would he take the shipment there?”

Kanan shook his head, “I don’t know. But we’ve got what we need. I say we get back to the Ghost and head straight for Primtara.”

“Easy there cowboy. Wouldn’t it be better if we knew what was waiting for us?”

“What? Do you think he’s going to spill all of their troop positions and -”

“No, but if he brings out his datapad I might be able to steal some-”

As if on cue the Admiral pulled out a sleek white datapad and tapped something on it showing it to his friend. Hera tapped a code into a device on her wrist and smiled, showing Kanan.

“Security codes! Impressive.”

“I do my best. Now let’s get back to my ship.”

“You mean our ship?”

“No,” she smiled giving him a quick peck on the cheek for a job well done. “I mean mine.”

She was always doing things like that. There was nothing official between them, not yet. But there were signs. A lingering glance, a squeeze of the hand, a kiss on the cheek. But nothing ever more than that. Despite Kanan’s multiple attempts at flirtation, Hera had a mission and Kanan didn’t want to stop her from reaching her goals, even if it was extremely trying sometimes. 

Hera checked the hall and then frantically turned back to Kanan. “They’re coming.”

“What?”

“That Imp and his friend are heading back to the bar. If they see us here they’ll know we were listening in!”

The two voices were getting closer. And there were no escape options. At least none Kanan could see. But Hera was usually smarter than him, surely she would come up with something. 

“Kanan,” Hera started. “Kiss me.”

Okay so, that’s not what he thought she was going to say.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Just,” her eyes darted back to the hall and before Kanan knew what was happening her hands clutched the fabric of his tunic and pulled him in, placing her lips on his. He hesitated at first, surprised. He wasn’t sure exactly what sparked this change in attitude, especially since she was usually the one refusing him, but he wasn’t going to waste a single second of it. If this was Hera’s plan Kanan was more than eager to comply. One of his hands found the back of her neck, tilting it to deepen the kiss. The other hand, the small of her back pulling her closer against him. 

And despite both of them releasing their repressed feelings and desperate need for the other, there was a sweetness to the kiss. It wasn’t how he’d dreamed of kissing her for the first time, obviously. Did anyone plan to have their first kiss with someone in a sketchy bar hiding from the empire? And he wasn’t entirely certain what would come of it. But the feel of her lips pressing against his. Her hands wrapped around him as though she was holding on to him for dear life.

Oh, he definitely could get used to this. He could spend a lifetime kissing Hera. And force, if he thought he was good at kissing, Hera was-

Well, Hera was something else entirely.

She was like a tidal wave and Kanan had to do everything he could to stay afloat. She turned kissing to an art form. Everything about her was strong and passionate and-

He still didn’t completely understand what was happening not until the Admiral and his informant rounded the corner, spotted the two completely lost in each other, then immediately turn in the other direction. 

As soon as the two couldn’t hear the footfalls of Imperial they broke this kiss, much to Kanan’s disdain. Hera looked down the hall and said a little breathlessly, “it’s clear let’s go.”

Kanan pulled her back. “Uh, are we not going to talk about that?”

“We can talk about it later.”

“Nuh-uh uh,” Kanan tutted. “I would like to talk about it now, please.”

She crossed her arms. “We don’t have time Kanan, those two are probably on their way Primtara right now, so the way I see it is we can either go now and stop the shipment or stay here and talk about our feelings. But it’s your choice.” 

Kanan raised his hands in surrender, there was a considerable walk back to the Ghost ahead of them so he followed her out of the bar with a “you sure do enjoy bossing me around Captain Syndulla.”

“Oh shut-”

“Almost as much as you liked kissing me.”

“What? No, I didn’t,” she assured him. “Listen. Public displays of affection make people uncomfortable.”

“You seemed pretty comfortable, he teased as a fresh gust of wind blew past them.

“I mean, other people.”

“Of course,” Kanan replied unconvinced.

“And if they thought we were just wily bar patrons-”

“ _Wily bar patrons_ ,” Kanan chuckled. 

“Then they wouldn’t pay any attention to us.”

“Right, right because that’s all it was.”

Hera shook her head, “stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?

“Like a lovesick loth cat,” she sighed. “Listen, Kanan, I don’t want you to think this is going to become a regular thing because-”

“Hera,”

“Because what matters first,” they were approaching the Ghost now, “is the mission. Right? The work that we both do for the rebellion is too important to have any distractions.”

“Hera,”

"So I don't want you getting any ideas because you and I-"

"Hera"

She finally stopped and met his gaze. “Yes? What?”

“Can I kiss you again?”

Her eyes widened. Kanan didn’t know if she was going to kiss him or punch him.

He hoped she would kiss him. 

She opted for a punch to his shoulder.

“Ow, hey-”

“That was for almost blowing our cover.”

“That was not-”

But he was cut off by the extraordinary press of her lips against his. 

“And that was for everything else.”

Without another word, she lowered the ramp to the Ghost, where Chopper was waiting and disappeared inside. 

He touched a finger to his lips and smiled. It was true that the Jedi believed that love could lead to jealousy and fear of loss, and ultimately the dark side of the Force. But maybe this, whatever this ended up being, would lead to strength.

“Kanan,” he heard her yell from the bridge. “Come on, while we still have the element of surprise. Are you inside?”

“Yeah, yeah I am,” he said stepping onto the ramp just as it was closing. “Hey buddy,” he mumbled to Chopper who only made an annoyed grunting sound.

Kanan took his place in the co-pilot seat and watched as the space and stars around them quickly turned into the blue tunnel of hyperspace. He glanced at Hera, smiling to herself, humming contentedly as she concentrated on something on the panel in front of her. Her smile did crazy things to him and he couldn’t help but smile too, thinking privately that maybe love wasn’t something to be feared as the Jedi believed. Maybe it was okay to have someone to fight for. Maybe it was the influences of love that would save them all. 

Not that he was in love with her.

She laughed a little under her breath and looked at Kanan, her eyes large and beautiful as ever. “We’re gonna do alright aren’t we?”

His heart fluttered against his will, “yeah. I think we are.”

Well, maybe he was a little bit in love with her.

He chuckled to himself.

Bastard indeed. 

**Author's Note:**

> I've never written these two before but I have a lot of really cute ideas so stay tuned and thanks for reading! Comments and Kudos are always appreciated!


End file.
